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Help celebrate Adopt-A-Shelter-Bird month and join us the week of January 23rd - 29th! Our topic will be Exotic Bird Adoption and Care with Catherine Gwyer of Greyhaven Exotic Bird Sanctuary! Catherine will be happy to answer any of your questions relating to exotic bird adoption and care.

A bit about Greyhaven:

Greyhaven Exotic Bird Sanctuary is a registered non-profit society that rescues, rehabilitates and cares for unwanted, injured, orphaned, abused, neglected and abandoned exotic birds. Greyhaven provides sanctuary, rehabilitation, consultations with our avian vet when health care issues arise, and a daily monitored dietary regime consisting of high quality seeds, pellets, vegetables and fruits.

Greyhaven actively promotes avian welfare and awareness in the community through educational seminars and presentations to local schools, colleges, clubs, and other organizations. Our goal to help people understand the level of devotion and commitment it takes to share one’s home with a companion bird.

See you there!

Posted: Mon Jan 23, 2012 3:54 pm Post subject:

What questions would you suggest a bird adopter make sure to ask about a specific bird before she adopts the bird?

Catherine's Answer:

Before considering adopting any bird, I recommend that you do some research about the specialized care and diet requirements of parrots and other birds. The smallest of species can live 10 - 15 years while larger species like macaws can live 80+ years. All birds require fresh fruit, vegetables and grains daily, they also need to live in a clean cage and environment that is free from smoke and harsh chemical odors. Some species such as Lorikeets or African Grays have specific dietary needs that have to be considered as well. Understanding the basics of bird care will help you determine if a parrot is the right pet for you. If there is a bird club or rescue in your city that you can visit and talk to bird owners, it's a great way to learn first hand information about the commitment it takes to have a companion bird in your life.

When you finally start your search for the perfect feathered companion, take your time and interact with the birds and see what one is responsive to you. Many people who own parrots will tell you that their bird chose them, not the other way around.

A few questions that I would ask are:

1. Is the bird currently on a seed or pellet diet? Pellets are preferred for most species as they offer complete nutrition however, this is something you can work toward switching to once your bird is home and settled.

2. What are his/her favorite fruit and vegetables?

3. What is the bird's current sleeping schedule? Does he/she get covered at night or does she have a night cage? Parrots need 10-12 hours of uninterrupted sleep to help ensure good health

4. What is his/her daily schedule? How many hours out of cage does she get? Does she have favorite toys?

5. How does the bird like to bathe?

6. Any known medical issues? Most rescues will have had the bird checked by an avian veterinarian prior to being made available for adoption and will be very honest if a particular bird has special needs

7. What does the adoption fee include? Some rescues will include a cage with the bird, some do not.

8. Recommended cage size for the species if you haven't learned that through your research

9. Although this shouldn't play too much into your final decision, you might want to know why the bird was surrendered.

10. If you don't already have an avian vet, ask the shelter to recommend one in your city. It's better to be prepared than to have to find one in an emergency.

Catherine

Posted: Tue Jan 24, 2012 11:16 am Post subject:

I am a new budgie parent with two young budgies. Now from what I have been reading I shouldn't have to give them vitamins if they are eating fresh fruits and veggies. My problem is that no matter what I put into the cage they have no interest in eating it. I have tried opening the fruit up so they don't even have to chew through skins, I always wash it beforehand and I've tried putting it in the same dish as their food. I am just wondering if you can offer any explanations or hints to get my budgies to eat more fruits and veggies? So far I have tried apples, grapes, blueberries, strawberries, lettuce, bananas and carrot. They aren't even the slightest bit interested. Also, I have been putting some vitamins in their water in the meantime to make sure they are getting what they need in their diet.

Catherine's Answer:

Hi there, first of all, don't give up! It can take awhile and a lot of experimenting to get them to try new foods. Budgies have very small beaks and might prefer vegetables cut up really tiny. Peas, corn and romaine lettuce are usually easy to get them started on. While none of these are very nutritious, it's a good way to get them used to the idea of new foods. Try hanging a wet romaine leaf on the cage bars, often budgies will bathe against the leaf and snack at the same time. You can make a mash for them, cut or shred veggies very small, mix this with a grain like quinoa, kamut or even oatmeal. Add a little bit of seed or pellets to this mix and mash it so it's soft. Keep trying this, you can make up enough for a couple of days so you aren't cooking every day. You can also take a carrot and shred it with a peeler but leave the peeled pieces attached to the carrot so that you end up with a "mop" and hang this from the cage. Once they get used to the mash and recognize it as food, you can try adding other foods into the mix like sweet potato, kale, swiss chard. My budgies personal favorites are quinoa, romaine, swiss chard and peas but it did take awhile for them to start eating.

Fruit is high in sugar content and again if you wanted to mash at first, it would probably make it more appealing. Remember to remove fresh foods after a couple of hours, especially in hot weather as bacteria can start to grow quickly.

Good luck!

Posted: Wed Jan 25, 2012 10:58 pm Post subject:

A friend of mine has been interested in getting a parrot since she has been around my birds. She lives in an apartment so I recommended a budgie but she seems very interested in lovebirds. Would a lovebirds be okay for an apartment?

I am also trying to warn her about toxic foods and dangers like aerosols and non stick cookware. But I feel like theres so much important information I'm forgetting to mention. What would you tell someone before they decided to get a bird??

Catherine's Answer:

Lovebirds can be a good choice for an apartment and one Lovebird will definitely be quieter than two. Lovebirds have a high pitched, shrill call and do like to chatter but every bird will have a different noise level. If the Lovebird is getting the appropriate 10 - 12 hours of sleep, night time noise will not be an issue as they are quiet through the night. I also think noise level would depend partially on the apartment and neighbors. If the walls of the apartment are paper thin, then any bird will likely be too loud.

Many people believe that they need to have a pair of Lovebirds however, that is not true. One Lovebird will bond with his/her owner and will be a fun loving and energetic addition to the family. Lovebirds are very playful, they love to ride around on a shoulder and they love toys. Most will learn to whistle and some may speak a word or two. Their clownish antics will keep you laughing.

There is so much advice to give a new "parront" that's it's difficult to sum it up in one small post. As a general guideline, chemical based cleaners, air fresheners & plug ins, nail polish and removers, scented candles and any non stick cooking surfaces should be avoided in a home with birds. When living with birds, any new appliance that you bring into the home should be questioned and researched as non stick surfaces are found on so many products.

Avocado, onion, fruit seeds or pit, alcohol and chocolate are just a few of the foods that birds must never eat.

It might be a nice idea to buy your friend a good reference book as a "new baby" gift. There are many to choose from. You can also find a lot of good reference websites that list toxic plants, foods and household dangers. If you friend is adopting from a rescue or a shelter, they often will provide reference material and support to the new owner. They have a vested interest in the adoption being successful and the bird living a long and happy life.

I hope that helps you and your friend a little bit!
Catherine

Posted: Fri Jan 27, 2012 1:39 pm Post subject:

Oftentimes when I return home after being out for a couple hours my bird will bob up and down with her mouth open and droop her wings and kinda lie low, what does that mean? Is this normal? Sorry, this is my first bird, so I'm certainly learning alot!

Catherine's Answer:

Don't worry, this sounds perfectly normal. She is greeting you and showing her excitement to see you. If she is a young bird this behavior can represent the motion of begging for food like she would have as a chick. Congratulations on your new family member, I hope you enjoy every minute of living with a bird, it's a very special relationship!

Posted: Sun Jan 29, 2012 11:45 pm Post subject:

Hi! I have a Conure that tends to be nippy during play. What can I do to discourage this? I would really appreciate your help, thank you!

Catherine's Answer:

It's important not to react when your bird nips or bites you. I know this is sometimes hard as can hurt but any reaction is going to reinforce the behavior. Instead, when the bird bites, quietly and calmly return him/her to the cage and walk away for a short time out of about 5 - 10 minutes. Once he/she has had some time to calm down, try another play session and reward with praise and a small treat when you have a nip free play time. This might take some repetition and several time outs before your bird understands why play time has ended. The key is to be consistent and reinforce the undesirable behavior by putting your bird back in his/her cage and reward the positive behavior when you have good play sessions.

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